美国“重叠集团”案及其对我国高等教育改革的启示

On the Case of Overlap Group and Its Revelation to the Reform of Chinese Higher Education

1991年,美国司法部反托拉斯局根据《谢尔曼法案》控诉重叠集团通过共谋实施固定价格行为,减少对学生资助金额、提高学校的收入,重叠集团学校认为他们的做法是为了集中有限的资金资助需要资助的学生,并没有影响价格。案件的最终结果是政府与MIT达成和解,允许重叠集团学校实施政府以前所控告的大部分做法。这一案件及其引发的研究发现,学校的共谋行为应该使用“合理原则”来审理;学生和高校之间存在两种交易关系,高等教育领域中存在市场交易和市场机制,学费是接受高等教育服务所支付的价格,对优秀学生提供的奖学金是学校向学生购买人力资本投入的价格。这一案例和相关的争论对我国高等教育管理改革具有重要的启发意义。

In 1991, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department Of Justice sued the Overlap Group under Section 1 of the Sherman Act for engaging in a conspiracy to fix prices in an effect to reduce aid and raise revenues. The school justified their cooperative action which enabled them to concentrate financial aid on needy students and did not affect price. The government reached a settlement with MIT that allows the school to engage in most of the conduct that the government had challenged. The justification for the collective action should be considered under the＂Rule of Reason＂. There are two different kinds of trade between university and students. Each student pays to the university for his education and university charges tuition, that is the price of education. versity is in effect putting a positive price on student input into production, that is the financial scholarship. Policy implications implied in this analysis are identified for the further reform in China＇s higher education system.